Organizers of the international textile shows taking place this month in New York said a rebound in exhibitor registrations may indicate the industry is ready to put the clouds of the economic crisis behind it and get back down to business.
Economic indicators over the last year point to a slow, prolonged recovery, but recent signs are giving show organizers hope that this will improve. In particular, organizers said, the value of the dollar against other global currencies like the euro should benefit suppliers looking to do business with North American companies. Counterbalancing this is the specter of rising raw material prices, notably cotton and wool, which is casting clouds on a completely sunny forecast.
“At the same time currencies are getting more reasonable, the price of raw materials is going up,” said Karine Van Tassel, director of Spinexpo, which will be held at the Metropolitan Pavilion & Altman Building on West 18th Street July 19 to 21.
The economic crisis of the last few years has helped companies hone their competitiveness, she said, even as raw material costs are “dancing.” Cotton and wool prices have risen 34 and 22 percent, respectively, over the last year.
“From the exhibitors’ point of view, the biggest issue today probably is cotton prices and unknown factors regarding cotton,” said Andrew Olah, chief executive officer of Olah Inc., a U.S. agent for foreign contract manufacturers and textile and hardware vendors targeting denim designers that also produces the Kingpins Show, a boutique denim fair taking place July 13 and 14 at Skyline Studios on West 36th Street.
Trade fair organizers said there is renewed interest from foreign companies in reaching the North American market, as economic recovery slowly takes hold, despite last month’s drop in the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index.
Jacques Brunel, general manager and international director of Première Vision Preview, set for July 14 and 15 at the Metropolitan Pavilion & Altman Building, said his show is at full capacity with 94 exhibitors from 13 countries, on par with the previous edition. The show will feature a special presentation of collections by a Première Vision stylist for members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, as well as one for other show attendees.
A theme of recovery is pervading the trade show season — “recovery of the market, recovery of the needs of fashion, the American market, our buyers, recovery in the enthusiasm for fashion,” Brunel said. “We are recovering, too.”
In previous years, Première’s exhibitor levels exceeded 100, but the numbers have declined since 2009.
Texworld USA, produced by Messe Frankfurt, will run July 13 to 15 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Texworld USA is co-locating this year with two smaller shows and is folding Prefab: The Supima Premium Fabric Show into the larger anchor, making it the biggest edition of the trade fair to date with more than 400 exhibitors in all. The International Apparel Sourcing Show, focused on private label and contract manufacturing companies, and the Home Textiles Fabric Sourcing Expo will run concurrently with Texworld.
Also for the first time, Texworld USA will feature a pavilion for Pakistani exhibitors sponsored by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan. A pavilion for exhibitors from Mauritius will return for the third consecutive year with seven mills represented.
Texworld’s exhibitor stable doubled in size this year even without the new co-located shows, said Stephanie Everett, group show director for textile shows for Messe Frankfurt. There will be more than 280 mills from 17 countries exhibiting at the show, with more than 100 of those being brand exhibitors.
Kingpins, sponsored this year by Invista, has a slate of 26 companies participating, said Olah. The denim supply chain fair is by invitation only and more than 200 attendees had already registered by last week, he said.
The show will feature 13 denim companies, three corduroy and twill factories, two laundries, Cotton Incorporated and several supply chain companies. For the first time, there also will be one leather supplier, from South Korea, Olah said.
Spinexpo, featuring fiber, yarn and knitting firms, has a full roster of 94 exhibitors from across the globe, up from 80 at the last edition, Van Tassel said. There is also a large contingent of Italian companies showing this year, she said.